Fat Prophets

FAT PROPHETS: In a big year for merger and acquisition activity, this week’s headlines are being dominated by the largest announced deal year to date by a long shot. It is of course the Pfizer / Allergan combination which if seen through will see jumbo Pfizer plc become the largest pharmaceutical company on the planet. […]

FAT PROPHETS: Content is king in the media world and this has been one of the central components to our fondness for The Walt Disney Company (NYSE; DIS, initial buy $48.60) as an investment opportunity. A core cast of some of the most loveable characters for kids has grown leaps and bounds over the decades […]

FAT PROPHETS: The US dollar hit an 8-month high on Monday on expectations of a Fed rate hike in December, which put metals and commodity prices under more pressure, whilst stock markets generally held. Some analysts are concerned that a supply response will not be forthcoming from producers as the US$ strengthens, with volumes being […]

FAT PROPHETS: In the mobile gaming world, a so-called “Big Spender” is just as important, if not more important than the “Whale” is to the casino industry. According to research from video game industry research firm Newzoo, this subset of mobile gamers recently numbered around 49.3 million, although it is growing all the time. Globally, […]

FAT PROPHETS: Home Depot (NYSE: HD, initial buy $61.38) shares got a boost from yet another strong set of quarterly results this week, with the shares up 4% in trading on Tuesday following the announcement and hitting an all-time high. While a number of other retailers have been downbeat and facing relatively soft demand, the […]

FAT PROPHETS: A strong summer for the European airline industry saw EasyJet post record full year results.  In the year to September 2015 the group saw pre-tax profits come in at the midpoint of guidance (£675m-£700m) with an 18% increase to £686m. Passenger numbers increased by 6% to 68.6m and revenue rose by 3.5% to £4.686bn […]

The new James Bond movie, Spectre, just wrapped up another cracking weekend at the box office, taking top honours globally. The movie went wider release, adding 14 new markets (notably China), taking the total to 92 territories around the world and this paid off with a whopping $188 million in box office takings. Spectre’s global […]

FAT PROPHETS: It was a tough week for markets that ended on a tragic note with the terrorist attacks in Paris leaving over 130 dead. Saturday was a sad day for France and the rest of the world. There has been a breakout of solidarity however with Australia, the UK and the US, and many other […]

FAT PROPHETS: The world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM, initial buy at $10.76) this week announced its net revenues for the month of October and after a soft third quarter, the company looks to be back at the races. Revenues of NT$81.74 billion were the second highest monthly swag in […]

FAT PROPHETS: All was quiet with the markets on Wednesday with oil dominating the headlines, falling to a 2 ½ year low. Resource stocks bore the brunt of market weakness in Australia, the UK and the US as sentiment continues to be dreadful within the sector. China reported weaker industrial output data, but the Shanghai […]